Song & Dance Stage School | Carol & Jimmy O'Byrne

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Carol and Jimmy O'Byrne
Directors





With combined directing and performing careers of over 50 years, Carol and Jimmy are among the most experienced and successful directors in the country.  Working both together and separately they have, as Directors and Choreographers, been responsible for over 70 productions ranging from variety to pantomime, drama to revue, musicals to concerts.

Carol's work has received "Best Director" and "Best Choreographer" nominations and awards from AIMS (the Association of Irish Musical Societies) and the Northern Ireland Festival of Light Opera.

Jimmy is well known as an actor and singer appearing in theatre and concerts countrywide. You can find out more about him here.

They have worked together and separately with many musical societies including Portmarnock M.D.S. (9 shows), O'Connells M.S., Baldoyle M.S., Kill M.S., Avonmore M.S. (Arklow), and Cooline M.S.  They have directed a huge range of shows including: Joseph, Jesus Christ Superstar, Oliver, Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, The Hired Man, Carousel, Guys and Dolls, Wonderful Town, Annie, The Panto of the Opera, High School Musical and many plays including Juno and the Paycock, The Crucible, Canaries, and Roddy Doyle's War.  They also produce and direct concerts including 4 Beaumont Foundation and in support of World Mental Health Week, and the highly successful Christmas Crackers series at The Helix each December. In the summer of 2016, Jimmy and Carol directed the first workshop production of Forkbeard and Olav: A Tale of Two Vikings, a new musical by Nancy Jenster.

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Rachel O'Byrne
Drama | Musical Theatre



Rachel trained at Song and Dance and Dublin Ballet School and holds a BA in Drama and Theatre Studies from Trinity College, Dublin where she had a special interest in drama in the community and young people's drama. She is one of the first graduates of The Lir Academy, from which she earned a B. Histr. (First Class) in Acting.

Rachel has worked as a Director/Choreographer with SDYT, Trinity College Halls Musical, Upstart Productions, Roundabout Youth Theatre Ballymun and in 2010 was nominated for Best Director at the Association of Irish Musical Societies Awards for Les Miserables in The Helix Theatre for REAL Theatre Co., which she co-founded. She also has a busy career as a singer, actor and voice-over artist.


Rachel has been teaching at Song and Dance for twelve years. She keeps coming back because she loves playing her part in helping every Song and Dance kid grow up a confident, happy young person.

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Grainne Kennedy
Dance
Gráinne began dancing at the tender age of three with the Metropolitan School of Ballet before moving to Spotlight Stage School. From there she commenced training at the College of Dance. She also trained in Classical and Musical Theatre singing at the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
She has worked extensively throughout the country in a variety of stage shows including; four consecutive Christmas Pantos, Bugsy Malone and Our House: The Madness Musical at the Olympia Theatre, Christmas Crackers and Oliver! at the National Concert Hall, Celtic Circles at the Point Depot, Grease at the Gaiety and Beauty and the Beast, Sleep-ing Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella at the Helix Theatre as well as various corporate events across the country.
Grainne has also been fortunate enough to see her career take her overseas, with tour credits including; two highly successful seasons on board the Irish ferries in Wilde Nights Cabaret as lead Irish dancer, along with a further season as lead Irish dancer and dance captain. Four tours of North America with Dublin’s Traditional Irish Cabaret, a sum-mer season as swing in Normandy Nights Cabaret Show on board the MV Normandy and a 6 week tour of Holland with Celtic Rhythms as Irish dancer and lead female vocalist.
TV credits include several appearances on The Late Late Show and The Voice of Ireland, Republic of Telly (RTE) George Gently (BBC) Ireland Am (TV3) and Penny Dreadful (Sky Atlantic).
Gráinne began teaching dance 7 years ago and is now linked to a large number of schools based throughout Dublin, Meath and Kildare. She loves seeing the children’s confidence grow and helping them to reach their potential. She also works for London based company Go Experience and Hen Party Dance, teaching one off dance workshops for hen parties, as well as recently securing her cert in DDMix, a new, high intensity work out dance class designed by Darcey Bussell.

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We have also been delighted to welcome guest teachers for special classes over the last number of years, including  Thommas Kane Byrne, Aisling Breen, Hannah Carnegie, Diane Richardson, Niamh Murray, Muirne Bloomer,  Kathryn Smith, Don King Rongavilla, Virginia Kerr, Phillip Connaughton and Bernie Sherlock.
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